Where The Stars Still Shine is a cutesy romance, that is fresh and exciting but definitely unique. When I read this novel, I really felt like I needed something cute and contemporary and this book did not disappoint. Originally, it did take a while to get through the first two or three chapters but from there I was like a rocket ship and I zoomed through it! I really recommend it if you have read and loved all the really popular contemporaries!

The novel is told by Callie, who has been on the run with her mother for her whole life. One day, her mother is caught and charged with kidnapping- Callie suddenly gets whisked into another life filled with a roof over her head, friends and a real teenage life. Callie is grateful but she doesn’t want to forget about her history and throughout the novel Callie discovers what it really means to be part of a family and to fall in love

*SPOILERS FOR WHERE THE STARS STILL SHINE*

Can I just point out how cute this novel was? I love the plot for this story because Callie was such a complex character. The start of the novel was a major bang where the main character was seeking refuge and her mother was not caring about her. Callie has had a really troubled childhood, where she has been on the run he whole life. I really liked this component of the plot because it makes the book so much more interesting- it was a really fresh and unique. It is not often where contemporaries mix the cutesy romance with a really dark undertone and that was definitely explored really well throughout the novel.

A lot of the book dealt with Callie fitting in and because I have never been through something as extreme as her character, I found it quite hard to relate to her. Instead of really feeling how she would feel, I felt more like I was watching her grow, which was equally as enjoying as reading a relatable character. I was in a way really proud of how her character developed throughout the story. Originally, I found her really annoying because she was so stubborn and rude: and that really led to some cringe worthy moments like the scene where Callie made Alex mad. *cringe*

If you remember, Callie treated her father, Greg so badly even though he was giving everything to her- she kept on slowly breaking his trust and you can see through Greg’s actions that Callie was cracking his nice facade. That really frustrated me because Callie really should have been so much more nicer to him because he is actually giving her food on a plate and putting a roof on her head. She was also cutting herself from everyone in Tarpoon Springs, if it wasn’t for Kat making an effort to introduce herself the events in the whole book wouldn’t have happened. However, as we got to the last third of the book you start to notice how much she was changing and delightfully, it was a subtle change. You really notice how her rude shell was cracking and coming out into a more thankful person.

The relationship development was not on point but I definitely loved the relationship of Alex and Callie and totally shipped them! 🙂 Like a mentioned before, I didn’t like how much Callie pried into Alex’s life and that really made me frustrated. My favorite scene in the book was when they went to the beach together that definitely was a highlight! I kind of found it disturbing how Alex was Pheobe’s brother- that irked me. The relationship development, however, was rushed at the beginning and then slowed down- they met randomly by a port and then they quickly “fell in love”. I hate it when books do that but I forgave it all in the end because their relationship was too cute! 🙂 I JUST CAN’T BELIEVE THE ENDING!!! I need to know what happens- don’t tell me that they Alex left for college without her- WHAT HAPPENSSSS???

I really loved the added drama at the end because it led to this major conclusion but the ending was not my favorite- I mean, yeah, I am glad that Alex forgave Callie and that her mother survived but I didn’t like how it ended in midst of the drama. There were too many unanswered questions. Don’t get me wrong I love some open-ended endings but this one was too much of an open end. But nevertheless, I absolutely devoured it and it seriously needs to be much more popular. The writing is amazing and it was a truly different novel. It is definitely one I will be recommending to lots!

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About Alicia

Hello! I'm Alicia Grace, author of this blog- By Alicia Grace. I'm always in the mood to travel to places across the world and I hope that one day I'll be able to say that I've step foot onto every continent in the world. I enjoy wandering through the streets and discovering new places. Besides travelling, I also love fashion and bullet journaling. You will always find me either reading, photographing or listening to music.